Pretend That You're Alone Now
by andyoullenjoyit
Summary: Kate Beckett meets Addison Montgomery one night at a bar in L.A., forever changing their lives. Begins during "To Love and Die in L.A." Undoubtedly AU. Title is from Keane.


_Hello, all! I know it's been a while and while I apologize for that, this morsel was delivered to me by my muse while I was working on my exercise paper on Henry VIII and I felt as if I just had to share. It's hot off the press so please be kind! My two favourite characters in one place- ah, heaven! Let me know what you think._

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><p>The first time it happened was a complete accident. She had been in L.A. with Castle, trying to solve Royce's death the first time she had met her. Kate had gone out to a bar by herself, looking to avoid her past without the constant buzz of Castle and his theories. A red head had sat down next to her and ordered a scotch with a drawn out sigh, catching the detective's eye.<p>

She studied the woman surreptitiously with a practiced eye- well dressed, put together with an air of fatigue and power- in addition to the smell of antiseptic that clung to her skin, Kate guessed that she had to be a doctor of some sort. She was too well kempt to be a nurse.

The red head spoke first, holding out her hand. "Hello, I'm Addison. Addison Montgomery. I haven't seen you around here before- are you new?"

Kate smiled tiredly and shook the offered appendage. "Kate Beckett. I'm just in town for work."

"Work, huh? What do you do?"

"I'm a homicide detective back home in New York."

Addison's eyes lit up. "Ah yes, that's why I've heard of you! Rick Castle's inspiration- I'm originally from New York, my friend occasionally sends me articles that she finds interesting. It must be annoying having someone follow you around, much like having interns."

Kate shrugged and took a sip of her drink. "He grows on you after a while and can actually be useful. He's saved my life several times."

"Ah, I see," Addison said, looking bemused.

Kate finished her drink and looked at Addison. "You mentioned interns and you smell like a hospital- what kind of doctor are you?"

Addison laughed. "My, my, you are astute! Which would make sense considering your profession, but I digress. I'm a neo-natal surgeon and an OB/GYN, I work at a practice in the area. Interns are a special type of torture, especially in Seattle," she said darkly.

Kate looked up from playing with her glass at her tone, decided not to probe any more and signalled the bartender. "On that note my new friend, how about another drink?"

"Gladly."

And so the night of drinking began, leaving both women too drunk to do anything other than giggle hysterically at the stories the other was telling.

Kate eventually got up to leave, calling a cab to take her back to the hotel suite she was sharing with Castle.

"Oh, you're leaving already?" Addison said, sounding disappointed through the fog of the alcohol.

"Yep, I should go."

"I'll wait outside with you then." She followed Kate outside, feeling more sober than she aught to.

As they were walking outside, Addison stumbled and Kate caught her, bringing them in close proximity to each other.

"Thanks," Addison murmured, looking intently at Kate's lips.

"No problem," Kate answered quietly.

It's hard to say who moved first, but their lips met tentatively and everything exploded- Addison wrapped her hands in Kate's loose curls and Kate tried to meld herself to Addison's body, both women exploring every inch of the other's mouth, breaking apart only when the taxi horn sounded.

Breathless, Addison looked at Kate intently. "Come back to my place?"

Kate just nodded, trying to catch her breath and reign in her wild emotions.

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><p>The second time it happened, Kate ran into Addison in the maternity ward at NY Presbyterian while visiting her friend Madison, who had just had a baby girl.<p>

"Addison? Is that you?" Kate exclaimed upon seeing the doctor filling out a chart at the nurse's station.

Addison dropped her chart and whipped around upon hearing Kate's voice. "Kate Beckett! What a surprise!"

The two women met in the middle of the floor and embraced rather tightly.

"It's so great to see you Addie! It's been months since LA- how have you been? What are you doing here?"

"I'm just here on a consult, I owe an old friend a favour. As for how I've been…" she eyed Kate mischieviously, "I'd be a lot better if a certain someone would visit more often!"

Kate sighed. "You know I can't Addie- what happened was a mistake, we both know it. I have Josh, you have Sam… besides, I'm pretty sure that I'm straight."

Addison raised an eyebrow. "Is that a challenge I hear, Detective? Meet me tonight, 7pm, the Concordia- I'm in room 319. We'll have dinner and you can prove me wrong."

Kate spluttered, irritated at Addison's ability to leave her speechless, and walked towards the elevators in a huff when the doctor merely turned back to her work.

That night could only be described as a beautiful disaster- while their first time had been awkward and hurried, their second was slow and sweet, as if they had known that it was to be their last. When Kate returned to her apartment the next morning to get ready for work, she left thinking that she would never see Addison Montgomery again.

She was wrong.

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><p>The third time she saw Addison was nothing like the first two. The second Kate saw her, she knew that letting Martha send the wedding invitations based on her address book had been a mistake. She hadn't noticed Addison at her and Rick's ceremony, but she saw her at the reception when Addison came up to congratulate her, looking as fetching as ever in a gold Prada dress.<p>

"Well Kate, congratulations on your marriage! I was surprised to get an invite," Addison said with a genuine smile. "You look beautiful."

Kate blushed, releasing her grip on Rick's hand to give her a hug. "It's nice to see you too Addie. Addison, this is my husband, Rick. Rick, this is one of my old friends, Addison."

Rick eyed Addison speculatively as he shook her hand. "Where did the two of you meet?"

"In a coffee shop in LA."

"In a bar in LA."

Rick looked between the two, who had answered at the same time and were looking nervously at the ground. "Oh… oh!"

He looked to Kate and grinned triumphantly, teasing, "So this is who gave you that hickie!" Only to immediately cry "Apples! Apples!" as Kate grabbed his ear and shot Addison an apologetic look.

"Sorry for my husband, he's still being house broken."

Addison just laughed. "Don't worry about it, he's got nothing on my brother! I can't stay, I just wanted to congratulate you and tell you that you looked stunning. Keep in touch Kate, I value your friendship, even if we could have been great."

Kate hugged her again. "I'm sorry Addison, but Rick is it for me. He's my one-and-done. I'll email you pictures from the honeymoon and maybe we can all get together during the holidays- Rick and Sam would love each other."

"I look forward to seeing you, Katie. Take care of yourself!"

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><p>The very last time Kate ran into Addison (they had done a number of get togethers over the years) was once again at a hospital- but this time, Kate was the patient.<p>

"Addie? Why are you here?" Kate mumbled from the hospital bed where Rick had a death grip on her hand.

"Writer Man over there called me when you started having difficulties- he knows that I'm the best. I took the red eye from LA to help you out. You can do this, okay? I'm going to get this baby out of you, healthy and ready to cause the both of you more trouble than you can handle."

Kate looked at Rick and smiled tiredly before turning back to Addison. "Thanks Addie- it just hurts a lot, you know? I want it to stop."

Addison put her hand on Kate's knee soothingly. "I know sweetie, I'm going to have to take you for a C-section to get the little one out and then you guys will be okay. Stay with me, you got it?"

Kate nodded, exhausted.

Hours later, in the hospital room of Katherine Castle and baby Castle, Addison entered to say goodbye before she headed back home.

"Hey there Super Mama- how are you feeling?"

Kate yawned and looked up from the little bundle she had been looking at lovingly. "I'm doing well Addie, Rick and I can't thank you enough."

Addison looked at her shoes. "I'm just glad I could help. Where is Rick anyway?"

"He's talking to Alexis, his oldest daughter- she's at Stanford and just got our message about her little sister being here."

"She must be excited."

Kate smiled wryly. "You have no idea. Did you see what we named her?"

Addison shook her head. "No, I didn't. What did you end up choosing?"

"Johanna, for my mother, and Addison, for you."

"Really?" Addison gasped, taken aback. "Kate…"

She held up a hand to stop her protests. "I know you think you don't deserve it, but you helped me get to the point where I could love myself the way I needed to so that I could let Rick all the way into my life. I don't think we can see each other any more Addison- our schedules are too impractical and it feels as if I'm betraying Rick- but I'll send you updates on Jo and we can keep in touch, alright?"

Addison nodded, wiping the tears from her eyes. "Alright."

"For what it's worth, I'm so sorry Addie. I'll never be able to thank you enough for giving us Jo safe and sound, but I can't keep doing this. It's exhausting."

Addison left when Rick came back into the room, walking out and leaving a piece of herself behind- one that she would never fully get back, even when she finally had her own daughter, one that she aptly named Katherine Marie.

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><p>Kate Beckett had been a hurricane in Addison's life, but it was for the better. Addison was able to move on from the past and give herself and her daughter the best future possible, away from complicated relationships with men that couldn't accept all of her. If there was anything that Addison had learned from her, it was that you had to live each day to it's fullest, because you never knew when someone would show up and throw a wrench in your plans.<p> 


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